


the lantern died last night (but we didn't need to see)

by inkheights



Series: Haikyuu!! Rare Pair Week 2020 [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Confessions, Cow Moon Ship, Crushes, Fluff, HQrarepairweek2020, Haikyuu!! Rare Pair Week 2020 Day 7, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kissing, Kuroo Tetsurou is a God, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, M/M, Making Out, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Tsukishima Kei has a Crush, Ushijima Wakatoshi has a Crush, i love how that tag exists lmao, ushitsuki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24037588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkheights/pseuds/inkheights
Summary: Ushijima Wakatoshi—former ace of Shiratorizawa, former Japan representative in the Youth World Championship, and just so happens to be the current ace of Kei’s college team—stands in front of the closet doors all dignified and imposing, waiting for Kei to follow him into their turn of ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven.’Kuroo smirks. Kei’s palms itch to throw the nearest hard object and nail his face when he mouths ‘thank me later.’
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Haikyuu!! Rare Pair Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720228
Comments: 15
Kudos: 225





	the lantern died last night (but we didn't need to see)

**Author's Note:**

> Day 7 entry for Haikyuu!! Rare Pair Week 2020! Sorry this is like, three days late aaaahh but I wanted to end the week with something that I felt I could work my best on, so here it is! This may be the most satisfying for me out of everything in this series huhu. Kuroo has more tags than the main pairing in this fic lmao.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading! If you get confused at some point in this fic—especially because it's canon divergent and I'm an amateur writer and English is not my first language ack—don't hesitate to ask. Also, please leave me feedback!
> 
> [title is from Owl City's song Sunburn (i'm obsessed w/ ocean eyes deluxe edition forever)]
> 
> p.s. special thanks to [moonbya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonbya) for getting me through this fic. a real bro sdkfks.

Kei sports a headache the moment Kuroo announces the name on the cursed paper. The older members of their team whistle and howl and clap, while the freshmen gape at one another.

He should have known. Once the senior middle blocker started saying _everyone_ — _‘Especially you, Toshi-kun!’_ —should participate in this stupid game, he should have gotten the hint and bailed. In the name of team spirit, his ass. He made this whole shit up for the sole purpose of torturing Kei.

The headache only worsens when Ushijima stands, leaving an empty spot in the circle they formed on the dorm’s living room carpet. He walks toward the cleaning supplies closet casually, like that’s the typical response.

And theoretically, it is. But the situation is ridiculous enough on so many levels, the least he can do is show some reluctance.

Instead, Ushijima Wakatoshi—former ace of Shiratorizawa, former Japan representative in the Youth World Championship, and just so happens to be the current ace of Kei’s college team—stands in front of the closet doors all dignified and imposing, waiting for Kei to follow him into their turn of ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven.’

He shoots Kuroo a glare.

The captain smirks. Kei’s palms itch to throw the nearest hard object and nail his face when he mouths ‘thank me later.’

Now, Kei has had his fair share of regrets during the past twenty years of his life, including accepting the sports scholarship from the Tokyo team where Kuroo _and_ Ushijima play. But probably the most intense yet is telling the former _anything_ about him—particularly his awkward high school crush at a certain intense wing spiker.

In his defense, any boy his age then who was remotely interested in men probably had a crush on Ushijima. He was extremely fit, insanely attractive, and conveniently unattainable—the perfect subject of interest for an adolescent male going through a sexual identity crisis.

But now, they go to the same university and play on the same team. Heck, they even live in the same building. They’re not exactly close but Kei has learned enough things about the brunette that easily let his attraction dwindle down.

Mostly.

Okay, maybe not.

So Ushijima’s serious and honest personality turns out to be Kei’s type, too. And he may or may not have an unresolved crush on the older man. But it’s not like he needs or wants to do anything about it.

This is just Kuroo reveling in the suffering of others.

Kei sighs, resigning himself to his fate. What’s new.

He gets on his feet and stalks toward their ace, stomping his soles on the wooden flooring to convey to one spiky-haired senior just how sour he is about this prank; and how he will be a petty little shit about it in the near future, he better count on that.

Kuroo’s smirk only widens as he closes the closet doors. _Asshole_.

The first few moments after the lock clicks, Ushijima and him just shift in the enclosed space, trying to find a position that gives two one hundred ninety-plus centimeter tall athletes a bit of leg room without having to twist or break a limb. It ends up with their backs to each side of the closet, Kei’s right leg having to settle between the wing spiker’s and Ushijima’s right leg being in the same state between Kei’s.

His eyes become a bit more adjusted to the dark, though, the sliver of light coming from the gap between the doors can only show so much. That’s a relief because that means he has the perfect excuse to look at anywhere but Ushijima as he waits out seven minutes of awkward silence.

But apparently, the brunette isn’t too interested in that plan.

“Should we...?” From what limited gleam there is, he sees Ushijima’s brows strain together.

Kei heaves another sigh. He kind of feels sorry for him. He _is_ being strung along as much as the blonde is. “No, we don’t have to do anything. Captain’s just being annoying as usual.”

A beat of silence. And then, “What did Kuroo do?”

Well, shit.

“Nothing,” he blurts, maybe too hastily. “He’s just. Annoying in general.”

His voice trembles a little from the half-truth he managed to spit out but Ushijima somehow interprets it differently. “Does that mean he bothers you regularly? I can talk to him for you, if you want.”

“No.” It rings a bit louder in the confines of the small closet, and he jolts up only to feel his leg brush against the older’s. He shudders and feels his breath come to a dramatic halt in his throat.

This is the worst. He’s not some horny teenager, goddamit, why would legs brushing spike blood up his face. He can only hope the lack of lighting gives him cover.

When Kei feels like he can breathe again, he elaborates, “I mean, yes, he bothers me regularly. But it’s not anything new and it’s not that bad. It’s just Kuroo being Kuroo. And it’s not like I don’t get him back for it.”

Kei goes for a laid-back tone, downplaying and hoping Ushijima will just drop it. He can just imagine their _ace_ giving their _captain_ the talk about respecting people’s boundaries and the concept of consent.

Seriously, Kuroo will never let Kei live that down.

“You should not excuse someone’s untoward behavior as part of their identity.” The older is almost scolding and Kei almost feels ashamed.

“Kuroo is also the Captain,” Ushijima nods to himself, “Alright. I will talk to him about setting a good example for the underclassmen. Kuroo is a good man, he will understand.”

“I— Wait. Look.” Kei’s headache is ready to turn into a full-on migraine now. “It’s really actually not that serious.”

The older leans forward just enough for the light to catch on some of his hair and his eyes. Did his irises always have that green tint at the edge?

It takes a few heartbeats before Kei realizes that Ushijima leaned closer to hear Kei expand on what he said.

And really. Just.

_Fuck it._

“Okay.” He inhales a huge chunk of breath. “Okay. When I said Kuroo was being annoying I actually meant right now. With this.”

Kei makes a vague gesture indicating the both of them. The slight movement has his left knee knocking into Ushijima’s right one, and it sends vibrations up his bones. He’s suddenly extremely conscious of their close proximity. The brunette’s steady exhales gently reach Kei’s right cheek.

“How would Kuroo put us here on purpose?” He looks Kei in the eye, “And why?”

Right. Headache. The headache.

“I don’t know the answer to your first question but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was along the lines of dark magic.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “And the second one is. Well.”

Here goes.

“I may have had a thing for you back in high school. And Kuroo is convinced that I still do. So I’m guessing he wants us to. Uh. Kiss. Or something.” He sighs for what feels like the thousandth time that night. “But of course, we don’t have to do that.”

Kei strains his eyes downward, unwilling to see whatever expression Ushijima may have.

“Oh.”

Yeah. Oh. He kind of expected that reaction.

He quirks his lips a little. At least that’s been dealt with. And yes, Kei is an asshole but he’s still—begrudgingly—human enough to be somewhat down when he’s rejected.

“But what if I want to?”

Or not.

What.

“What?” he echoes out of his mind and snaps his head upward. And that’s a mistake because he’s met with Ushijima’s olive orbs that say he’s not kidding.

“I want to kiss you, Tsukishima.” Kei is pretty sure he squeaks but no one will ever hear him say that.

His head races and stops at the same time. Wait. Okay. This is Ushijima Wakatoshi. His former rival, high school crush, now teammate, dormmate, maybe college crush. He’s also one of the biggest idiots Kei knows.

Has he even kissed before? Maybe he hasn’t and he just figured now is the best time to try it? The chances he’s joking are pretty much close to zero. The chances he jokes at all are the same. And does Kei want to kiss him? Maybe. But does he think that’s a bad idea? Probably. And why is tha–

“Can I?” He doesn’t get to ponder over his latest question when Ushijima tilts his head and exposes the veins in his neck to the light.

Kei is positive he hears something inside his skull snap.

And maybe that’s why he bolts out a, “Sure.”

They stare at each other for a second. Kei because he’s afraid if he moves and touches Ushijima he may actually faint. _Pathetic_ flashes for a moment in his mind but it’s quickly wiped away when Ushijima’s face grows closer.

The first press of lips is just that—a press of lips. Kei lets out a breath of relief when the other pulls away, relaxing at the fact that it’s just Ushijima’s curiousity after all.

Only to be shocked when the ace cocks his head in the opposite direction and crashes their lips again.

This time, the wing spiker slots his heavy hands on Kei’s waist. He moves his mouth in a way that underlines to Kei how he definitely _has_ kissed before, and the blonde’s lower back follows his shoulders up against the wall. Ushijima goes with the movement, pressing their chests and hips flush before withdrawing again.

Kei tries to get his mind to catch up and fails miserably. His heart is throbbing so violently he’s sure Ushijima can feel it even through their clothes. At least the other man in the closet is also panting, heavy breaths fanning Kei’s lips they almost feel like light kisses.

“So you’ve liked me since high school.” Despite his disheveled state, Ushijima’s voice doesn’t betray what his mouth was doing minutes ago.

“ _In_ high—”

“Me too.”

Their breaths mingle as Kei’s brain properly short-circuits. “Um. Uh...?”

“Well, not since high school but—”

“ _In_ high school!”

“Since you joined the team,” Ushijima ignores his lie for the second time. “Last year.”

Kei lets that sink in. He’s been taking hits of huge information the past minute.

Like how Ushijima is a good kisser. Which means he’s kissed before—probably _many times_ before. And he’s liked the blonde middle blocker for more than a year.

This time, Kei is the one who leans in.

The kiss picks up pace easily, Ushijima parting his lips and Kei following suit. The blonde licks experimentally across his senior’s lower lip before pulling away and resting his head on the wall behind him.

“So we could’ve been doing this for a year now but you were too chicken to confess,” he teases, though the effect is lost on his breathlessness. The thought of Ushijima Wakatoshi being anywhere near the word chicken is still hilarious, though.

The ace slides his hands down Kei’s hips. The younger has to supress a shiver. “You’ve liked me for longer and didn’t say anything.”

“Okay, to be fair I was in Miyagi and you were in Tokyo for the better part of that time.” As if having a sudden realization that his hands exist he slings them around the brunette’s neck. “And I was in denial for the past year.”

“So now you admit you’ve liked me since high school.”

Kei kisses him again to shut him up.

He squeezes his arms inward to pull Ushijima even closer. When Kei opens his mouth, he feels the telltale softness of a tongue against his own and _damn_. He may or may not have whimpered and no one is going to get a confirmation.

After some more making out, Kei faintly hears a low whistle and people gasping. Ushijima’s lips disappointingly part from his and he opens his eyes, excessive light assaulting them he has to close them again promptly.

“Seems like you had fun.” Kuroo’s amused voice drags him back to the real world. He looks around, seeing the shell-shocked faces on his teammates, some even frightened.

Heat creeps up to his face. Well, that’s. Embarassing. He completely forgot they had a time limit.

“Well, you can stay here if you want, we’d hate to disturb you,” Kuroo says as he starts to close the doors to the closet again.

To Kei’s surprise, Ushijima takes his hand and steps out of the closet. “No, we’re going to the store for a bit.”

“Oya?” The captain raises his eyebrows. “It’s almost nine, though? What would you need to go there for?”

“To celebrate our new relationship.”

Another flurry of gasps and murmurs erupt across the room. Kei’s ears feel like they can scald a person. He keeps his eyes trained on the floor, not daring to look at his underclassmen. He hears Kuroo snicker but lets them go nonetheless.

When they reach the door, he takes a hesitant glance at the man who orchestrated all of this. The captain flashes him his Kuroo Ate the Canary Grin™ which just further flares the heat on his cheeks.

He huffs indignantly.

Okay.

Maybe he _will_ thank him later.

**Author's Note:**

> And that concludes my torture! I can finally consume content as much as I want now again huhu. (also, I just love ushitsuki pls they are my life blood, I need everyone to join in and make them mainstream because,, no content,,)
> 
> day 7 prompts: ~~sock~~ | dormitory | ~~alpha/beta/omega!au~~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


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